Living at the intersection of queerness and disability makes for a truly unique perspective of the world. Since coming out publicly earlier this year, queer athlete Theresa Goh, 30, is beginning to see just how her multifaceted identity disrupts commonly-held perceptions about both queer people and people with disabilities (PWDs).
“[After coming out], I felt freer to talk about other parts of myself, like being a [Pink Dot] ambassador. Sometimes I touch about how sometimes I feel like people only want to know certain parts of me but are keen to hide other parts – that I don’t want to hide.”
The visibility of these aspects of her identity means that she sometimes finds herself in awkward situations or having to answer unexpected questions from strangers.
“Being on a wheelchair is very, very, obvious. No one can deny that, they can’t say I’m an able-bodied person. But no matter how obvious you are about your sexuality, you still can’t assume. I think that’s why some people can still deny it if I don’t say it.”
People who have the mindset that PWDs cannot or do not have romantic relationships doubly strike out with Theresa, who was born with spina bifida.
“Sometimes cab or Grab drivers will ask – and think it’s okay to ask – if I have a boyfriend. I wonder if they are asking because they suspect that I’m not straight, or because they think I’m straight and they wonder if I have a boyfriend since I’m on a wheelchair.”
As part of her public speaking engagements, Theresa makes it known that she is a queer athlete.
“I’ve never gotten bad responses [to being queer]. But I feel it’s because when I get invited to these talks, it’s already in my bio. So it’s not like they go there unaware about what I talk about.”
“If anybody asks me anymore if I have a boyfriend it’s because they don’t have Internet,” she jokes, having been one of three ambassadors for Pink Dot 2017. The annual event organised in support of the LGBT community in Singapore attracted 20,000 supporters in July this year. Part of her duties as ambassador was to speak to the media. Figuring out how to put her lived experience into words was a tremendous learning experience and a good opportunity to widen her networks.
“It pushed me out of my comfort zone. It’s something that I’m really proud of, but don’t have much experience or knowledge talking about. I guess the experience that I have is living as a queer person, but I’ve never really talked about that part of me.”
As an ambassador, Theresa also had to ensure she put out a clear message to the public in support of the queer community in Singapore.
“It’s not about being politically correct – I don’t think it’s a topic to be politically correct about. It’s about knowing the message, being a role model and saying stuff that I think is important. And knowing how far I’m willing to go in my messaging.”
She admits though, that it has not been easy. “I’m very non-confrontational. It’s hard for me, over the years, to say stuff that may upset people.”
As a well-known national athlete, she feels that she has the privilege of “crossing over” between elite and social justice circles. “Especially because I meet important people during certain [sports] events. I still maintain civility with them. But I want them to know that it’s not okay that we are still so backward.”
“I’m trying my best to not be afraid of saying stuff. But it’s hard.”
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